(Phys.org) —Thermometry – the measurement of temperature – is critical to a wide range of applications, including many industrial processes, biomedical monitoring, and environmental regulatory systems. However, measuring ...

(Phys.org) —Quantum dot LEDs (QLEDs) are a promising technology for creating large-area displays that could have applications for TVs, cell phones, and digital cameras. So far, however, the highest efficiencies of QLEDs ...

(Phys.org) —It is widely known that the optical properties of certain materials can be modified by using lasers to control the quantum states of their optical electrons. Lasers that can generate ultra-short pulses in the ...

(Phys.org)—When you open your door on a cold winter day, the warm air from your home and the cold air from outside begin to mix and evolve toward thermal equilibrium, a state of complete entropy where the temperatures outside ...

(Phys.org)—Scientists have discovered that a solar cell consisting of two or three layers of quantum dots, with each layer tuned to a different part of the solar spectrum, has an efficiency that is 40-60% higher than the ...

(Phys.org)—Quantum dots are semiconductor crystals that contain a few hundred atoms constrained into such a small space they're considered zero-dimensional objects, often called "artificial atoms." Researchers have fabricated ...

(Phys.org)—One of the biggest challenges to realizing the potential of targeted therapies is keeping nanomaterials from accumulating in the liver or spleen. The liver and spleen are part of the mononuclear phagocyte system. ...

Harnessing the power of the sun and creating light-harvesting or light-sensing devices requires a material that both absorbs light efficiently and converts the energy to highly mobile electrical current. Finding the ideal ...

Scientists have created a crystal structure that boosts the interaction between tiny bursts of light and individual electrons, an advance that could be a significant step toward establishing quantum networks in the future.

Quantum dot

A quantum dot is a semiconductor whose excitons are confined in all three spatial dimensions. As a result, they have properties that are between those of bulk semiconductors and those of discrete molecules. They were discovered by Louis E. Brus, who was then at Bell Labs. The term "Quantum Dot" was coined by Mark Reed.

Researchers have studied quantum dots in transistors, solar cells, LEDs, and diode lasers. They have also investigated quantum dots as agents for medical imaging and hope to use them as qubits.